Hair rollers



June 23, 1970 P. F. ROSMARIN HAIR ROLLERS Filed May 5, 1967 FICELZ FIG.

United States Patent 3,516,421 HAIR ROLLERS Philip F. Rosmarin, New York, N.Y., assignor to H.

Goodman & Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 5, 1967, Ser. No. 636,296 Int. Cl. A45d 4/14 U.S. Cl. 13233 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The described hair rollers have the desirable property of remaining hot over a long enough period for setting of hair wound thereon. A hollow plastic-walled roller is charged with an aqueous gel that is largely of water and containing hydrophilic high polymers especially 1.2 to 2.4% of carboxypolymethylene. The gel consistency is maintained both at normal temperatures and at temperatures approaching the boiling point of water, and therefore there is no hazard of the hot contents of the rollers leaking out even if the hollow plastic-walled roller should crack.

The present invention relates to rollers used for curling hair, particularly to hair rollers that are to be heated and used hot.

Hair rollers of this form have long been known. The rollers are commonly heated for use by immersing them in boiling water for a suitable time interval. They are of conventional size and form to be wound in a womans hair, and they comprise a hollow sealed container filled or nearly filled with any of a variety of substances. Oil, oil containing various granular materials such as metal particles, heat-evolving solutions of various salts in water, and wax are some of the materials heretofore considered. Liquids or materials such as wax that are liquid when hot and solid at room temperature have been favored. In general, all the filling materials of which I am aware are deficient in some respects. Liquids are objectionable in case of a crack or other leak developing in the roller. This objection is particularly serious in case a caustic or toxic filling material is used, representing a hazard to the user. Rollers containing some of the known materials function poorly, in that they cool off too soon. An object of the invention is to provide a novel hair roller improved in at least some of the foregoing particulars over each of the known filled rollers. More specifically, an object of the invention resides in providing a roller of a form that is incapable of leaking and which is effective for giving off heat for an ample periodof time for setting curls. A further object resides in providing such a roller wherein the filling is harmless in case of exposure to the user, for example if the roller should be accidentally broken open.

The foregoing objects and others that will be appreciated are achieved in the illustrative embodiments described in detail below. In the illustrative embodiments, a plastic-walled container is filled or nearly filled with an aqueous gel that retains the consistency of a gel at room temperature and at temperatures approaching the boiling point of water. Because it retains its gel consistency, the material cannot leak normally or after prolonged immersion in boiling water, even if the container should be cracked or broken open. The roller is normally sealed so as to be water-proof, thereby preventing entry of water into the roller during its immersion in boiling water.

The nature of the invention and its further objects, novel features and advantages will be more fully appreciated from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments which are shown in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are transverse cross-sections of two dif- 3,5 l 6,421 Patented June 23, 1970 ferent forms of hair rollers, illustrating applications of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, the two illustrated embodiments of the invention utilize cylindrical bodies having walls 10 and 10a and end closures (not shown) of thermoplastic material. Many materials may be used for the roller, such as glass or plastic-coated glass or metal, or ceramics. However, as a preferred example, polypropylene is eminently suitable. It will retain its shape at and above the temperature of the boiling water in which the novel rollers are ordinarily heated, and it is easily molded and sealed. It can readily be provided with rows of integrally molded bristles 12 for controlling the tresses when wound on the roller. And as a plastic, it introduces a delay in the emission of heat from the filling material, so as to limit the initial surface temperature of the roller after being heated and to extend the time of heat emission for many minutes in effective setting of a curl. Hair rollers are usually from 1 /2 to 3 inches long and from 1 to 2 inches in diameter; and the wall thickness may be approximately to of an inch. Hair rollers having doublewalled cylinders are also contemplated as shown in FIG. 2, having coaxial walls 10a and llllb of different diameters and a hollow 14 between them to be filled and sealed at the ends. Such a roller has an open passage 16 along its axis, promoting fast heating of the roller when immersed in heated water.

A wide variety of gelling agents are known and available for the use in preparing an aqueous gel suitable for use in the novel hair rollers. Examples below of such gelling agents are methylcellulose and water-soluble starch. Carboxypolymethylene is an effective material for preparing aqueous gels especially suitable for the present purpose. These gels are harmless to the user, in case the container should be cracked or should it develop a leak. These gelling agents are organic, but suitable inorganic gelling agents are contemplated.

Water-soluble starch (Lintner type), a potato starch, may be deposited in either of the open-ended hollow cylindrical plastic-walled hair rollers shown, and water may then be added. For example, 13 grams of this starch to 11 grams of water is an effective ratio. The roller is then sealed as by forming a heat-seal between an end cover and the hollow-walled part of the roller that contains the starch and water. Boiling the unit in water for about 15 minutes converts the starch and water to an aqueous gel that later remains stiff at room temperature and when the roller is heated in boiling water.

Best results have been obtained when the weight ratio of water to gelling agent is at least about 1:1, preferably greater than 5:1. Examples of gels containing high proportions of water are given below.

A water-soluble cellulose gum may also be used to prepare a suitable gel. For example, 10 grams of methylcellulose (e.g., Dow Methocel type 65 HG Viscosity 4000 cps.) may be added to 60 grams of water at C. and agitated thoroughly. During heating of this water, a bacteriostat may be added, such as (ll-0.2% methyl-para-hydroxybenzoate. Further, grams of cold water may be added, the Whole mixed well and then chilled to yield a clear gel. This material is then loaded into an open-ended hollowwalled roller and sealed, as described above.

A third example is as follows: A dispersion may be formed of /2 to 3% of a carboxypolymethylene (e.g. Carbopol 934), preferably in the range of 1.2 to 2.4% for a gel that is relatively stiff but which is easily handled for loading into hair rollers, and a bacteriostat such as 0.1% of methyl-para-hydroxybenzoate dissolved in 10% (based on the total weight of the composition) propylene glycol, plus a suitable amount of a basic material e.g. 1.2% triethanolamine as a neutralizer, with the balance of water (approximately 87.5%). The percentages are given by weight. The polymer is dispersed in the water. Then the bacteriostat is dissolved in the propylene glycol and is added to the aqueous dispersion. The dispersion is then neutralized with the triethanolamine to form the gel.

This example has been found excellent for present purposes. For example, propylene rollers of usual proportions filled with this gel and sealed have been immersed in boiling water for about minutes, during which immersion the temperature of the gel approaches the boiling point of water. Five minutes after removal from the boiling water these rollers had a surface temperature of 158 F. Twenty minutes after removal from the boiling water, the rollers showed a drop in surface temperature only to 133 F. This demonstrates excellence of the rollers for heated use in setting curls. The exact temperatures will of course vary with the size of the roller, the amount of the gel that is used, and the nature and thickness of the wall of the rollers.

In foregoing examples, the rollers are not completely filled with the gel. A small air space usually remains. The gel will not leak out at room temperature or after prolonged boiling in water. In each of the examples the material is non-toxic and non-caustic, and thus safe even if a roller should crack open.

From the foregoing, it will be recognized that those skilled in the art will readily find alternatives and modifications in the examples given; and therefore the invention should be construed broadly in accordance with its full spirit and scope.

What is claimed is:

1. A hair roller, including a hollow cylindrical-walled member forming a sealed container that is susceptible of developing a leak and formed and proportioned for winding curls of human hair thereon, and an aqueous gel largely filling said container, s aid gel :being a gel both at room temperature and at temperatures approaching the boiling point of water, whereby the gel would substantially remain in the container even if the container should develop a leak.

2. A hair roller in accordance with claim 1, wherein said container is of a boilable plastic, physically stable in boiling water.

3. A hair roller in accordance with claim 2, wherein said container is of a thermoplastic.

4. A hair roller in accordance with claim 1, wherein said gel further comprises a bacteriostat.

5. A hair roller in accordance with claim 1, wherein said gel comprises a neutralized dispersion of a carboxypolymethylene in water.

6. A hair roller in accordance with claim 1, wherein said gel comprises /2 t0 3% of a neutralized dispersion of a carboxypolymethylene in water.

7. A hair roller in accordance with claim 1, wherein said gel comprises 1.2 to 2.4% of a neutralized dispersion of a carboxypolymethylene in water.

8. A hair roller in accordance with claim 1, wherein said container is of a thermoplastic, physically stable in boiling water, and wherein said gel comprises a neutralized dispersion of a carboxypolymethylene in water.

9. A hair roller in accordance with claim 1 wherein said gel is stiff both at normal temperatures and after prolonged immersion of the roller in boiling water.

References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,798,055 7/1957 Brown l6763 2,923,692 2/1960 Ackerman 16763 3,228,403 1/1966 Pasternack 13236.2

ANTONIO F. GUIDA, Primary Examiner GREGORY E. MCNEILL, Assistant Examiner 

